


Song of Gales

by vaultbug



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Found Family, Gen, wind waker but botw characters are in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaultbug/pseuds/vaultbug
Summary: Link meets a certain Rito on Dragon Roost Island before he leaves. Said Rito won't stop following him around.This is fine, Link concludes.
Relationships: Daruk & Link (Legend of Zelda), Link & Mipha (Legend of Zelda), Link & Revali (Legend of Zelda), Link & Tetra, Link & Urbosa (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Song of Gales

In hindsight, accepting Medli’s offer to sleep the night in Dragon Roost was not a good idea.

Not that Link was against sleeping there. Actually, he and his sore arms, tired legs and bruised ribs liked that idea, a lot. The demon under Valoo was no kinder on him than it was to Valoo, and the injuries it left on him tugged at his body every time he moved. When he boarded the King of Red Lions, the pain became more than he could handle.

Medli noticed, bless her soul. She paused from chasing Komali and eyed his trembling arms with scrutiny. “You’re hurt,” she declared, as if Link wasn’t aware. Then to the King of Red Lions she bowed once. “Can Link stay the night? It’s the least us Rito can give him.”

The King paused, a stern silence that tugged the corners of his mouth. Three seconds passed, and around the same time Link lamentably accepted crossing the Great Sea, the boat nodded. “Time might be of the essence, but the body must be healthy to prove a challenge to the great evil that gathers,” he noted sombrely, but there was warmth in his eyes. “Link, join Medli. We can set out tomorrow. I will wait here."

 _Thank you_ , Link signed.

“It’s no worry.” The King said. “Sleep well.”

It was no worry. The Rito Chieftain, upon his arrival, set out to make Link’s one-night stay as accommodating as possible; which was kind of the Chieftain, but a tad too much in Link’s opinion. He and his advisors bantered back and forth for a few minutes on exactly what type of bed Link would prefer, and what medicine to use on the bruises until Quill, with a sigh, intervened and offered up his hammock for him. “I’m heading out anyways,” he said with amusement when Link tried to refuse. “There’s a client far in the north region that expects me. Besides, you’re from Outset, aren’t you? Your grandma used to have a business in hammock making. You’ll recognize her patterns as soon as you see it.”

He was right, of course. Quill’s hammock was modest and clearly quilted by Hylian hands, and when Link hoisted himself into it, it was almost as comfortable as his grandmother’s arms. Swayed to a drowse, his last thought was gratitude to Medli and the Rito for letting him stay.

That was the first mistake.

* * *

When he woke up the next morning, there was a blue eagle two centimetres away from his face.

His first thought was -- _demon_. Second thought was of a story Grandma used to tell, of evil goblins with feathers that came out of the forbidden woods at the peak of their island that ate the children who wandered into the forest. The third thought was drowned out by his scream, which then caused the bird to scream, which both of them then promptly collided heads. The _thunk!_ cracked through the nest and raced merrily downstairs. The bird dropped off the side of the hammock with a _thump!_ Link fell off the other side, right onto his newly healed ribs.

 _Ow,_ he thought.

The bird was more vocal of his pain. There was a noise of talons on wood and then Link was faced with the bird’s face again, the bird clutching at his collar with wings (?) hands (???). “ _What in the name of droppings was that for?!?_ ” He squawked and he sounded around Link’s age when he spoke. Link immediately stopped struggling. “You could’ve killed me! Does every islander wake up so violently?”

Now since he was sure he wasn’t being attacked, Link found himself staring. There was an actual talking blue eagle holding him. _A talking blue eagle_ , a part of his brain repeated loudly. He blinked twice, just to make sure the talking bird was actually there and then he reached out to pull at the feathers on the bird’s face, just in case that too, was a prank. That was a bad idea. The eagle took to that like an insect took to water. “ _What--_ ugh, _get_ your hands away from me,” he snapped and slapped Link’s fingers away. Link took them back, momentarily cowed. “What are you doing? Are you _mad?_!”

Link hesitated. His eyes yet again drifted to the distinctly covered face of the bird, blue feathers and all. At that the bird paused and then realization struck the eagle like a lightning rod. “Oh, of course,” he muttered. “You’ve only seen the Rito with _faces_ , haven’t you? Like Miss Attendant and that prancing prince. You don’t know there’s Rito who look like me, hm? Is that the problem?!”

Link, sheepish, nodded.

The Rito rolled his eyes and let go of his collar. “ _Islanders_ ,” he scoffed, as if that explained everything. “The ones that don’t leave their islands are just the worst, believe me. You just go around touching peoples faces without even asking, just because they look different. I can’t believe you’re the hero everyone’s been praising about.”

Hero? Praise? The Rito was speaking too fast and too harshly for Link to keep up with what was going on. He felt almost dizzy of it. _Slow down,_ he signed softly and the Rito’s eyes widened. _Who are you?_

The eagle looked at his hands, then him. Now since he had stopped speaking Link noticed the bird looked quite similar to Prince Komali, despite being feather-covered head to claw. He was almost taller than Link, too. “My name?” The kid asked. “I don’t see why I should give it to you, Mr. Hero, seeing you just tried to tug at my face and all. I’d say it’s quite rude of you to ask, given the circumstances. You’re not very nice, are you?”

Uh. Link floundered for a response. _Sorry. You startled me,_ he said. _Wh_ _at’s your name?_

The kid paused. Then, with another scoff, he relented. “I’m Revali,” he said haughtily. “And you’re _Link_ , I know,” he continued as Link went to sign his name back. “Everyone’s been talking about you. How you went up there, saved Valoo’s tale and now all those fledglings can finally get their wings. You’re a hero to the town, the saviour of our prince and the best mail-sorter of the town. I get it.”

Uhhhhh. Link didn’t know how to respond to that. He opted for another route. _Why were you watching me sleep_ , he asked instead.

Another terrible question. Revali took to that as if Link had tried to pluck him. “ _Watching you_ \-- I was _not_ watching you sleep!” He snarled, and the feathers on his body fluffed out into a ball. It was adorable, although the sharp beak in the middle of the fluffy ball was not. “Quill came back this morning and asked me to see if you were still sleeping. You were, so I decided to wake you up and then!” He gestured to the dishevelled feathers on his head where Link’s forehead had cracked into. “This is what I get for Quill’s troubles! You should leave your friends a note or something about sleep schedules and food preference. You can’t expect them to keep track of you always, even when you’re this big hero. You’re not _that_ important.”

Alright. Link was starting to see a pattern here, one that pointed to a big sign that spelled, _This Guy Does Not Like You_. He didn’t see why, though. The bullies on Outset Island usually had good cause why they didn’t like Link. Things like when Link accidentally dropped a pig on one, or when Link just dropped a pig on one, that sort of deal. Revali didn’t really have a cause. Unless they had met before? He struggled to think of a time when he had seen a blue eagle before and drew...something. Yeah, they had met before. The memory lingered at the tip of his mind.

 _Do I_ _know you_ _?_ He asked.

Revali paused. “No?” He said eventually. His voice was filled with confusion and not entirely convinced. _“_ No, I certainly would remember an idiot like you if we met before.”

And Link recognized him then.

* * *

It was a cold Outset morning.

Grandma was taller then – not hunched over, not so tired. She ripped up the garden around her house with steady hands and laughed loudly when the swords-master next door would throw her compost up at his long-suffering brother. Mom and Dad were two years gone then, smiling acrylic faces in a picture-frame that, no matter how hard Link tried, eluded his memory.

Aryll was three. She was just beginning her life-long habit of squawking at gulls, pudgy fists trying to catch the darting white bodies that sometimes surrounded her crib’s window. Now she slumbered in Grandma’s hands, a moment of respite from the wailing to come. Link watched her breath mist out in the frigid air.

“Link,” Grandma said. She wasn’t shivering despite the cold, and her hand around Link’s was warm and stern. Link had the thought that when he was older, he wanted to look like her just then. “You’re about to meet an old friend of mine.”

The mailman. He had seen him before, but only glimpses from the window; and every time he looked, Link would see the long crooked wings that made up his arms, the cruel talons and the jagged beak that gleamed in the sun. The other kids on the island (now gone to different islands) were scared of him. The adults were less so, but Link could tell the mailman unnerved them.

Grandma continued. “I want you to promise me something,”she said. Link hung onto her every word. “Be brave. I know Quill can be a little...overwhelming, for someone of your age. Be brave.”

There was a loud noise. Fluttering feathers swooshed through the air elegantly and landed with a soft thump. Link leaned back and stared, up, up, _up_ until he could see the jagged beak on the Rito’s face. He wasn’t as scared as he thought he would be. Quill was...pretty, but not like the scales of a fish. Those gleamed like jewels. Quill was spotted and brown and the long braids he had were adorned with both beads and arrowheads. He looked almost like a prince.

“Hello little one,” said the Rito named Quill. “You would like your mail, I presume?”

He spoke softly. Link nodded quietly, too nervous to trust his voice and reached out his hands. Quill smiled, a tilt of that jagged beak, and handed him the letter kindly. Then he reached out a hand for Link to shake. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. My name is Quill. And you are?”

“Link,” Link said. His voice was very small, but he took the Rito’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Quill.”

There was a squawk. Link flinched, then watched, wide-eyed. Where the squawk had come from there was a little bird clutching to the mailman’s chest. He was blue and only a little larger than Link’s head – and bristled, two little defiant eyes glaring out at Link. As Link shook Quill’s hand the bird made another sharp _squawk_ as if trying to ward him off. A feather flew off the baby’s wing and to the ground.

Quill laughed. “Sorry,” he told Link. “He gets grumpy when I start talking to other people.” He let go of Link’s hand and started speaking to the kid, cooing in a dialect different from Hylian common. Eventually the little bird settled and closed his eyes, content. “Little warrior,” Quill huffed in fondness and turned back. “I apologize.”

“Oh, it was the same with Link,” Grandma said. She was closer now and reached out to give Quill a one-handed hug as he drew near. They were smiling when they moved apart. “He tried to bite Orca one time when the ol’ git tried to hold him. Thankfully, Orca found it amusing.”

“Another little warrior then.” Quill smiled. “Looks like we’ll have two troublemakers on our hands later. It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise.”

The rest of memory was muddled and lost.

* * *

“-- No, we haven’t met.” Revali huffed. “I’d remember.”

Link looked at him. Paused. Then he smiled quietly and looked away. _Is breakfast happening?_ He asked.

“And now he expects breakfast,” Revali said. “Yes, yes. Down on your right. The Chieftain prepared a meal for you before you go. Big, important guy like you. It’s probably cold by now –- _hey,_ where are you going?!”

 _Breakfast._ Link responded. He didn’t wait to see if Revali was following . _You co_ _ming?_

By the sound of Revali’s grumbling, he was.


End file.
